The Subaru Impreza Concept was shown in 5-door form, but a 4-door will soon follow.
These days, automakers frequently use “concept cars” to set the stage for a new model that may be coming in just a matter of months. Often times, they’ll give the show cars a catchy, if misleading name to keep media scribes and the public guessing. Subaru didn’t even bother to go that far as it rolled out what it insisted was just a “concept” version of the Impreza at the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday.
Sure, a few of the details will likely be changed, but not by much, Subaru acknowledging that the show car reveals “the design direction not only of the new Impreza but of Subaru’s future models as a whole.”
And for good reason, it turns out. The Subaru Impreza set to reach showrooms next year as a 2017 model will introduce the Japanese maker’s new global architecture, a platform that will be shared by virtually all of its products going forward.
The new Impreza, er, Impreza Concept offers a little more stylish take on its compact form, with a bit more sculpting to accent a wide and low stance, and more modern details like slimmed down taillights and a more pronounced hexagonal grille. Some of the bigger changes can be found inside, however.
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Another look at the Impreza show car.
Subaru was long quite fond of cheap plastic, and it showed. But recent products, such as the latest Legacy, have shown a switch in direction to more lavishly appointed cabins. And that trend carries forth with the Subaru Impreza concept. What does it say about the production car? “You can say a much-improved interior has been speculated,” said one well-placed Subaru source.
As for powertrain options, expect to see the basic line-up of today carried forward, a 2.0-liter inline-four paired with either a stick or CVT. But expect to see “a bit better mileage,” TheDetroitBureau.com was told by a company source who should know.
The Tokyo Motor Show brought the roll-out of a five-door Subaru Impreza Concept. But, fittingly, a four-door sedan version will take its sheet metal bows in short order in the U.S., likely at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month.
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The Subaru Viziv Concept spreads its wings for the crowds at the Tokyo Motor Show.
As we mentioned, Subaru will mount both of those bodies on an all-new global architecture. What we know is that all existing models from the Japanese maker will eventually share that flexible platform. What’s unclear is whether it also will serve as the foundation for the long-awaited three-row, seven-seater Subaru is finally getting ready to launch as a belated replacement for the old Tribeca model.
We got a hint of where the maker will go there, incidentally with the fourth-generation of its Viziv concept model. That show car apparently has “no reality at all,” our sources explained, though they then suggested that Viziv loosely previews the design language that seven-seater will adopt.
Referring to the three earlier concept versions, he said of the fourth Viziv, “They get more realistic each time.”
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